The Sprint All-Star Race is much like the racecars themselves—always evolving with frequent rules changes as NASCAR tries to find ways to create the most competition and excitement.
This year’s version of NASCAR’s all-star event has brought a big change in the format, which is now designed to encourage winning the early segments of the event prior to the final $1 million shootout at the end.
Overall, the event has been shortened from 100 to 90 laps, but it still includes a final 10-lap segment. Gone are a 50-lap first segment that required a four-tire pit stop and the 10-minute break for adjustments prior to the final segment.
Instead, each of the first four segments is 20 laps. Drivers can make pit stops during the five caution laps between each segment, but they would risk giving up track position. All drivers must come down pit road for at least a stop-and-go prior to the final 10-lap shootout, and the starting order for the final segment will be determined by the order they come off pit road.
Here’s the twist: When they come down pit road prior to the final 10-lap shootout, the driver entering pit road first will be the winner of the first segment, followed by the winners of the second, third and fourth segments.
There is no requirement on how much fuel or how many tires a driver must take, so there could be plenty of no-tire or two-tire stops, especially by drivers who won the first three segments. They could pit for tires and fuel and adjustments prior to the fourth 20-lap segment, then cruise around for those 20 laps and as long as they stay on the lead lap, know they will be among the leaders going into that 10-lap shootout.
“That’s going to make those first races really important because if you look at the way the racing is right now, if you start up front, you’ve got a huge advantage,” said defending race winner Carl Edwards, who was the leader for all 10 laps of the final segment last year to take home the $1 million prize.
So who’s in this year’s race:
• 2011-2012 race winners: Trevor Bayne, Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Regan Smith, Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch, David Ragan, Ryan Newman, Paul Menard, Marcos Ambrose, Tony Stewart, Clint Bowyer, Kasey Kahne and Greg Biffle.
• All-Star race winners from the past 10 years: Mark Martin.
The field will grow to 23 drivers with the two qualifiers from the Sprint Showdown and the fan vote winner.
Other elements of the All-Star Race include:
• If a segment winner repeats as the winner of another segment, the second-place finisher of that segment will get that spot in the lineup prior to the final pit stop.
• Qualifying, scheduled for Friday night, is a three-lap run with a mandatory four-tire pit stop. Total time for all three laps constitutes the qualifying time.
• The preliminary Sprint Showdown will be a 40-lap race of two 20-lap segments with no mandatory pit stops. The top two drivers advance to the All-Star Race. Qualifying for this event is the best lap of a two-lap run (just like any race weekend) and all cars are impounded after qualifying Friday.
• The remaining driver with the most fan votes also gets into the All-Star Race. That driver must finish on the lead lap of the Sprint Showdown and must have a car in raceable condition. Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will be in the Showdown, is a favorite for the fan vote.
• To be eligible for the Showdown or the fan vote, a driver must have finished in the top 55 in 2011 driver points or made a qualifying attempt for the 2012 Daytona 500. Although eligible, Danica Patrick is not participating as she is focusing on the Nationwide Series race at Iowa Speedway.
• Teams will choose their pit stalls in the order that they finish in the pit-crew competition, which will take place Thursday night at Charlotte’s Time Warner Cable Arena.
• As part of the All-Star event, Pennzoil will sponsor a burnout competition among selected drivers. Country music star Blake Shelton will perform a free concert at 3:15 p.m. on race day.
